Backblaze Review

Company: Backblaze

Website: www.Backblaze.com

Service: Online Backup

Overview

Backblaze is a company that allows you to experience the advantages of online data storage at affordable yearly or monthly rates. One of those benefits is the fact that data backed up online can be accessed from virtually anywhere. This is not true with offline backup methods. What’s more, Backblaze offers unlimited storage space, which is another real advantage. When you consider the fact that many of your other storage options can be lost, damaged or stolen, it becomes clear that online storage is much safer, too. Of course, in addition to those general advantages, there are some specific factors which make Backblaze a good choice for a specific online storage company to choose, and we’ll get started discussing those in just a moment.

Before we get started discussing the specific details of what sets Backblaze apart from its competition, we should let you know about the difference between its business and individual plans. Both of these plans will cost about fifty dollars per year per computer. (The price per month drops as you pay for longer periods up front.) Also, both of them offer an unlimited amount of storage space. The difference is that the business plan affords you access to a control panel from which you can manage your billing options and user accounts. Those user accounts allow individuals in your business to back up their own files separately.

Features of Backblaze

Sometimes, it’s helpful to get a bird’s eye view of the features a company has to offer before you start getting into the specifics. This often helps you be able to compare a company to its competitors more effectively. In general, there are three questions we should ask ourselves when we’re evaluating an online storage company. One of those questions is: Do they provide adequate service levels? Second, we should ask ourselves whether or not they do so at reasonable rates. Finally, we should also evaluate whether or not their facilities are secure. As we’ll soon see, in the case of Backblaze in particular the answer to all three questions is a resounding “yes.”

Pros

We always like to mention what we like before we start talking about what we don’t like, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do in this review.

Security

Security is one of the three main factors we mentioned that we consider when evaluating an online storage company. Backblaze takes multiple steps to ensure of your backed up information. First, your files are encrypted before they are even transferred. Then, they are transferred over a secure connection and stored on a protected disk. The security and disaster recovery systems at the server site itself are state-of-the-art as well.

Customer Service

The second question we mentioned has to do with whether or not a company provides adequate levels of customer support when and if there is a problem using its services. One of the steps Backblaze has taken in that direction is to set up multiple FAQs and knowledgebase files in several different languages. Of course, if you can’t find the answer to your question using either one of those resources, you will also have the ability to contact their support team via email in order to receive a prompt, courteous, knowledgeable response.

Ease of Use

Chances are probably better than you think that you won’t need to use any of those means of customer support even though they’re there. The reason for this is that Backblaze’s service is so easy to use. Once you’ve initiated the installation process, virtually everything happens automatically. Not only that, the service is compatible with all three major operating systems: Windows, MAC, and Linux.

Speed and Automation

Another thing we like about Backblaze is that it’s fast. The system automatically performs incremental backups, which are faster than complete ones. Two other steps are also taken in order to ensure the maximum possible speed. First, duplicate files are recognized and skipped over during the backup process. Second, information is compressed before it’s sent.

Easy Restoration and Tremendous Value

The innovations we just discussed when we were talking about the speed of Backblaze’s backups are also utilized during restoration operations. This makes them equally fast (and easy). This tremendous speed is offered to you for a great price, too. Remember, the more months of service you pay for up front, the cheaper your service is going to be, even though the price will go up with every computer you add. This means that the third criteria we use to evaluate online storage providers is met by this company as well. Given that Backblaze meets all of our major criteria and many of our minor ones, you may be wondering what the caveats are. Well, we’ve finally reached the point where we’re ready to share them with you.

Cons

There are two things we don’t like about Backblaze. Ironically, both of them are related to factors which we have already mentioned in the pros column. One of the factors we’re talking about is price. Though the unlimited storage space is a great bargain (to say the least) the fact that adding additional computers to your account makes it more expensive is a drawback. Another drawback is the fact that they don’t offer any phone support. Though they are responsive to requests for assistance which come in via email, there is something really nice about being able to pick up the phone and call somebody right then.

Conclusion

Backblaze is a great option for both individuals and businesses. This is primarily true because of the fact that they offer unlimited storage space, but it is also due to the fact that they do so in a manner which is both secure and affordable. As we discussed, not only do they excel in these vital areas, they also shine in some other ways. For example, they’re every bit as fast as we said they were. Once your initial backup has been performed, you’ll hardly even notice anything going on. Yet, you’ll always be able to retrieve your files when you need to.